Arthur L. Frothingham
Handbook of War Facts and Peace Problems

 

CHAPTER XI.

STATISTICS.

 

Tonnage of Warship Losses.

Allied loss 803,000 Central Powers 415,000
British loss (incl.) 559,000 Germany (incl.) 350,000

Estimated Mercantile and Warship Losses.

Another estimate issued by the Rudder, March, 1918, places the total Allied tonnage sunk at over fifteen million tons, consisting of about 5,000 vessels, with a money loss of eight billion dollars. The lost tonnage of the United States from all causes was 911,854.

War Casualties.

The following list of casualties is largely based on official documents. The most complete and exact are those of the United States and Great Britain. Next, those of France, where only the number of prisoners is approximate. The German list must be regarded as almost accurate. The Austrian, Rumanian, Serbian, and Turkish estimates are very approximate. The Russian hardly more than reasonable guess-work. To show more completely the human losses from the war, the deaths among the civilian populations due to massacres, disease and famine (purposely inflicted by the Turks, Germans, Austrians and Bulgarians) are given in a separate table. These figures are extremely approximate but are those given by special representatives of each nation best qualified to know. The massacres of civilians in Belgium and Northern France are not included. (See Walter Littlefield, in N. Y. Times Current History, Feb., '19.)

Army Casualties.

 

Killed or Died

Wounded

Prisoners and Missing

Total

Belgium

102,000

60,000

10,000

190,000

United States

67,813

192,483

14,363

274,659

Great Britain

692,065

2,037,325

360,367

3,089,757

France

1,383,300

2,675,000

446,300

4,506,600

Italy

460,000

947,000

1,393,000

2,800,000

Russia

1,700,600

4,950,000

2,500,000

9,150,000

Serbia

325,000

75,000

200,000

600,000

Rumania

387,656

120,000

117,000

600,000

Greece

15,000

40,000

45,000

100,00,0

Montenegro

3,000

10,000

7,000

20,000

Portugal

4,000

5,000

200

10,000

Japan

300

907

3

1,210

Germany

2,045,000

5,300,000

722,522

9,117,522

Austria-Hungary

950,000

3,100,000

1,200,000

5,250,000

Turkey

486,974

407,772

103,731

948,477

Bulgaria

46,000

160,000

 

206,000

Total number of men mobilized, about 60,000,000.
Total war casualties, about 33,500,000.

Civilian Casualties (Rough Estimate).

(Massacred, Died of Hunger, Exposure and Disease)

Armenians in Turkey

1,100,000

Greeks in Turkey

900,000

Serbians

650,000

Belgians

30,000

Syrians

150,000

Poles and Lithuanians

500,000

Rumanians

275,000

French

40,000

Neutrals by U-boats

7,500

British by U-boats

20,620

The Committee for Armenian and Syrian relief places the number of Armenians, Greeks, Jews, and Syrians massacred by the Turks at a total of about 4,100,000.

Military deaths

about

7,800,000

Civilian deaths

"

9,000,000

Total deaths

"

16,000,000

Permanent human wrecks

"

6,000,000

Comparative Strength of Armed Forces.

The approximate maximum number of troops in service at any one time (the new classes replacing losses) were as follows:

Germany

about

11,000,000

  France

about

5,000,000

Austria-Hungary

"

7,000,000

  Great Britain.

"

5,000,000

Turkey

"

1,600,000

  Russia

"

9,000,000

Bulgaria

"

400,000

  Italy

"

2,500,000

        United States

"

2,000,000

        Rumania

"

750,000

        Serbia

"

500,000

        Greece

"

230,000

Total for
Central Powers
 

20,000,000

  Total for the
Allied Powers

"

25,000,000

N. B.---It should be remembered that the Allied forces never reached this total at any one time, because the United States furnished no contingents until Russia was entirely out of the war.

Comparative Rifle Strength, April-November, 1918.

By the "rifle strength" of an army is meant the number of men standing in the trench ready to "go over the top." The U. S. War Department has issued the figures of the rifle strength on both sides on the Western front during the eight months before the armistice.

When Germany started her last great offensive in the Spring of 1918 she had over a million and a half men so classified against an Allied strength of a million and a quarter, a superiority of about 320,000 men, or about 25%. The Allied force steadily increased from April to September. America's contribution rose from 65,000 in April to about 350,000 in October. The relative rifle strength of the Allies during June was French 778,000, British 515,000, and Americans 254,000. Beginning in July the Allied forces attained to an ever-increasing numerical superiority, as Germany was unable to replace her losses. By November the German rifle strength was almost exactly one-half of what it had been on June 1.

 

Allies

Germany

April 1, '19

1,245,000

1,569,000

May 1, '19

1,343,000

1,600,000

June 1, '19

1,496,000

1,639,000

July 1, '19

1,556,000

1,412,000

August 1, '19

1,672,000

1,395,000

September 1, '19

1,682,000

1,339,000

October 1, '19

1,594,000

1,223,000

November 1, '19

1,485,000

866,000

(From report of the U. S. General Staff to the War Department and published Feb. 5, '19.)

Prisoners.

Of about 2,000,000 Russian prisoners in Germany, about 1,000,000 are said to have been murdered or killed by hunger or disease. About 800,000 German prisoners were kept in England and France, and nearly 700,000 Austrian and German prisoners in Italy. There were over 500,000 British and French prisoners in Germany. About 800,000 Russians remained in Germany early in 1919, as the Bolsheviki refused to let them enter Russia.

Diplomatic Dates (Country Acting Given First).

War Declarations.

Austria-Serbia July 28 1914
Germany-Russia Aug. 1 1914
Germany-France Ang. 3 1914
Germany-Belgium Aug. 4 1914
England-Germany Aug. 4 1914
Austria-Russia Aug. 6 1914
Serbia-Germany Aug. 9 1914
Montenegro-Austria Aug. 9 1914
France-Austria Aug. 10 1914
England-Austria Aug. 12 1914
Montenegro- Germany Aug. 12 1914
Japan-Germany Aug. 23 1914
Austria-Japan Aug. 27 1914
Austria-Belgium Aug. 28 1914
Russia-Turkey Nov. 3 1914
France and England-Turkey Nov. 5 1914
Serbia-Turkey Dec. 2 1914
Italy-Austria May 23 1915
Italy-Turkey Aug. 20 1915
Bulgaria-Serbia Oct. 14 1915
Allies-Bulgaria Oct.15-19 1915
Germany- Portugal Mar. 8 1916
Austria-Portugal Mar. 15 1916
Italy-Germany Aug. 27 1916
Rumania-Austria Aug. 27 1916
Germany-Rumania Aug. 2 1916
Turkey and Bulgaria -Rumania Aug. 31 1916
United States-Germany. Apr. 6 1917
Cuba-Germany Apr. 7 1917
Panama-Germany Apr. 7 1917
Greece-Central Powers July 2 1917
Siam-Central Powers July 22 1917
Liberia-Germany Aug. 4 1917
China-Central Powers Aug. 14 1917
Brazil-Germany Oct. 26 1917
United States-Austria Dec. 7 1917
Panama-Austria Dec. 10 1917
Guatemala- Germany Apr. 23 1918
Haiti-Germany July 15 1918
New Rumania- Germany Nov. 12 1918

Severing Diplomatic Relations.

Allied Ambassadors to Turkey ask passports. Oct. 30, 1914
United States-Germany. Feb. 3, 1917
Austria-United States Apr. 8, 1917
Brazil-Germany Apr. 10, 1917
Bolivia-Germany Apr. 13, 1917
Turkey-United States Apr. 20,1917
Guatemala- Germany Apr, 29, 1917
Liberia-Germany May 8, 1917
Honduras- Germany May 17,1917
Nicaragua-Germany May 18, 1917
San Domingo-Germany July 1917
Costa Rica-Germany Sept. 21, 1917
Argentine-Germany Sept. 25, 1917
Peru-Germany Oct. 6,1917
Uruguay- Germany Oct. 7, 1917
Ecuador-Germany Dec. 8,1918

European Neutrals.

Norway
Sweden
Denmark
Holland
Switzerland
Spain

Armistice Dates.

Russia Dec. 6, 1917   Turkey Oct. 30, 1918
Rumania Mar. 3, 1918   Austria Nov. 3,1918
Bulgaria Sept. 29, 1918   Germany Nov. 11, 1918

Peace Dates.

Ukraine Feb. 8, 1918   Germany

?

Russia Mar. 8, 1918   Austria

?

Rumania May 6, 1918   Bulgaria

?


Appendices

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